


Be Home

by karasunova



Series: Here We Go [4]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Christmas, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Family, Fluff, Holidays
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:21:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28305222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karasunova/pseuds/karasunova
Summary: It's a crisp, beautiful Christmas Eve. All Harry wants to do is spend the day with the people he loved. Unfortunately, Hermione's been called away for an emergency. But, that doesn't cut into the routine for the Potter family.Hermione is away from her family this Christmas Eve, but she's trying her best to make it home in time.Essentially, just some holiday/family fluff starring Harry, Ruby, Hermione, and small cameos from Sirius
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Harry Potter
Series: Here We Go [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1482638
Comments: 8
Kudos: 82





	Be Home

Harry blinked against the early morning light, a pre-dawn blue permeated through the curtains. He reached out beneath the covers, his hand bracing against the empty, cold side of the bed. 

One more night and Hermione will be home. 

She was cutting it pretty close. Tomorrow is Christmas. 

He wanted to groan in frustration, but he couldn’t fault Hermione for it when her Department Head had sent her to Geneva in the first place. 

Just one more day of keeping his daughter’s mind off the fact that her mum wasn’t home. One more day for the both of them. 

Merlin, he missed her. 

* * *

Hermione missed her family. Her eyes hurt and she felt a tension headache beginning to form as she read over the draft one more time. 

It was just her luck that an international magical creature incident occurred days before Christmas. 

A massive ‘clean-up’ was needed, including infrastructure and memory modifications. Three different foreign ministries needed to be debriefed and updated during the whole process. 

Thankfully, there were no major injuries and no casualties. But, really it wasn’t every day that magical government representatives stumble upon an illegal dragon breeding ring. 

Maybe after this, she could just sneak back to England. Ainsworth could finish up without her, right?

“Hermione -”

“Mrs. -”

“Granger,” Ainsworth pulled her away from the horde of people gathering around her work station. “Is the memo good enough?”

“As good as can be.”

“Excellent. There’s a portkey for Stuggart in twenty-five minutes and we’re not going to miss it. No way in hell am I going to be way-laid here. It’s Christmas.” 

She nodded in agreement. “I’d kill for a good cup of hot cocoa right now.” 

* * *

“Can I have hot cocoa?” Ruby pushed her head through the top of her jumper. 

Warm brown eyes peered into his. He helped her get her arms through the sleeves. 

“It’s too early for hot cocoa,” he told her softly. 

“But, I want some.” 

“Can I do your hair?” He asked her. 

She nodded and rushed over to her night table, where her hairbrush and hairspray were. She brought them over to him and propped herself up on the bed. 

Harry sprayed a generous amount into her hair and carefully began to brush her hair. Ruby’s hair was dark brown, the same shade as his own, which filled him with a quiet pride. He didn’t understand why that made him so happy. 

He eventually split her hair into two braids and tied the ends with hair ties. 

Ruby pushed herself off the bed and smiled at him. “Can we have hot cocoa now?”

“Did someone say hot cocoa?” Sirius appeared in the doorway. 

“Pawpaw!” Ruby ran to him and threw herself at him, the best way a three-year-old could. 

Sirius picked her up and set her against his hip. “Good morning, little one. What are we having for breakfast?” 

She turned to face Harry. One of her braids hit Sirius in the neck. “Dada, I want eggs. Please? And hot cocoa.” 

“You heard her, dada.” Sirius marched out of the bedroom and down the hall. 

Harry sighed softly. Honestly, what was so terrible about having hot cocoa first thing in the morning? 

Harry finally made it to the kitchen and found it empty, but he could hear both Ruby and Sirius chattering in the sitting room and morning cartoons humming softly in the background. 

Despite the chill in the air, it was a nice morning. White powder dusted the grounds of Dogwood Garden. The back shed and trees carried canopies of snow. He wanted to take advantage of such a nice day and take a walk. 

He plated some eggs and toast to cool. Quietly, he made his way to the doorway and peered into the sitting room, catching Ruby pouncing on top of Sirius and pinning him to the ground with her stuffed dragon. 

A slight twinkle caught his attention, making him look in the direction of their Christmas tree. There weren’t any presents waiting beneath the tree. He and Hermione had decided to wait until Christmas morning, hoping Ruby would be more excited at the sight. 

But, what if Hermione didn’t make it in time? What kind of Christmas was it without his -

“Dada,” Ruby tugged on his hand. “How are you today?” 

* * *

“How are you holding up?” Ainsworth handed her a cup of coffee. 

“Truthfully?” She took a small sip. “I feel like I want to wring someone’s neck.” 

She also determined if looks could kill, Ainsworth would have committed murder about three times. 

They took a portkey to Stuggart, but their next portkey landed them somewhere in Prague - the complete opposite direction in which they were supposed to be going - and now they’ve been delayed two hours, trying to work out how to get a portkey manager to make a new portkey. Understandably, no one was on duty due to the holiday. 

“I apologize, Mrs. -” a clerk began tentatively. 

“Could you please just get us another portkey?” Ainsworth waved his arm in the air. “I don’t want to be stuck here any longer than I need to and I’m sure neither do you.” 

“Hermione?” 

Hermione glanced up and spotted Klara Peterkova, one of her foreign colleagues who also worked within the creatures division, and who happened to have been a part of the clean-up. 

Klara strode over. “What are you doing here in Prague? Aren’t you going back to London?” 

“Yes, but we were waylaid by a portkey. We somehow ended up here instead of Cologne and we haven’t been able to get another portkey out.” 

“That’s unfortunate. Come, maybe you can use the international floo. The closest link to London is through Berlin. Our Paris line is down.” 

“Oh, Klara thank you so much!” 

“Of course, of course. You must get home to your family. Come. This way, you won’t even step into the cold snow.” 

* * *

“It’s cold, dada.” Ruby stomped her booted feet against the ground. “Where Mama?” 

Harry undid the scarf he had wrapped around Ruby’s neck all the while leaving a soft kiss on each cheek. 

She giggled and snuggled into his chest. “Hot cocoa, dada?” 

He pulled her knit cap off and then wrapped his arms around her. He picked her up and held her close. “Hot cocoa sounds wonderful right now.” 

“Pawpaw too?”

“Yes, we’ll even ask Pawpaw if he wants some too.” 

Ruby threw off her gloves and rubbed her chilled hand against his cheek. “When mama coming home?” 

“Soon, princess.”

“I miss her.”

“I miss her too.” 

“No!” Ruby gestured to her chest. “I miss her!” 

Harry held back a laugh. When you're dealing with a three-year-old, sometimes you had to pick and choose your battles. “Yes, of course. Sorry. You miss her.” 

Ruby rested her head on his shoulder. “I love you.” 

“I love you, princess.” 

Harry, Ruby, and Sirius settled in the sitting room with a fresh batch of hot cocoa. Sirius had picked out the first movie they were going to watch. Harry hoped that stacking the movies one after the other would make time go by a little faster and somehow make Hermione get home sooner. 

That’s how it worked, right? 

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day. Hectic, but exciting! Their whole family was going to arrive throughout the day, including the Lupins and Hermione’s parents. Sirius was going to make Christmas dinner, while Hermione’s parents were bringing the sweets. 

He couldn’t wait to see the look on Ruby’s face when she opened her presents. She was currently obsessed with anything dinosaur or dragon related so he and Hermione had gotten her an array of stuffed toys and figures. 

“Harry?” 

Sirius, much to Hermione’s dismay, had elected himself to gift Ruby her first training broom. He could already imagine the breaths Hermione would have to take to calm herself down. 

“Harry Potter?” 

Thankfully, Hermione’s parents provided practical and fun gifts. Ruby was getting a few new sets of clothes, a much needed new pair of wellies, and a play kitchen. 

“Husband?” 

Harry jolted slightly. He'd fallen asleep? He blinked away the sleep that lingered. “Hermione?” 

A soft hand caressed his cheek. “Happy Christmas.” She kissed his forehead. She perched herself on the end of the sofa arm. “You all fell asleep watching Home Alone?” 

Harry glanced at Sirius and Ruby, both sound asleep. “I guess we did.” 

He sighed, feeling Hermione's fingers thread through his hair. “I’m sorry I’m so late. You have no idea what kind of day I just had.” 

He stood up and pulled Hermione into his arms. “Tell me about it later. Let me just hold you.” 

“Missed you,” she muffled against his chest. 

“Missed you more.” 

He kissed her deeply, before moving to the sofa to pick up Ruby. He braced her against his shoulder. 

He turned and looked Hermione over. She looked exhausted. The bun she made earlier was drooping and she had long since transfigured her dress shoes into a comfy pair of flats. 

“I love you,” he told her.

She smiled. “I love you. How was your day?” 

“It went well. Even better now that you’re here.” 

She reached out and traced the curve of Ruby’s cheek. “It’s good to be home.” 

“Happy Christmas, Hermione.” 

“Happy Christmas, Harry.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Christmas! I hope you enjoy this holiday one-shot. This has been such an incredible year (in a variety of ways). Thank you to all of you who gave my work a chance, who commented, and who left kudos. I appreciate it so much! 
> 
> Hopefully, I'll see y'all in the new year with more fics. 
> 
> Until then, 
> 
> take care.


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